This is a simple "kitchen chemistry" project about acid/base chemistry. Scientists measure the acidity or alkalinity of a solution using a logarithmic scale called the pH scale. In this project you'll learn about the pH scale, and you'll make your own pH indicator paper using a pH-sensitive dye that you'll extract from red cabbage. You can use your pH paper to measure the acidity/alkalinity of various household solutions.
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Chem_p041

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Lab filter paper can be purchased from the [# Link Name="PlantBio_p035.1" Value="HtmlAnchor" #].

Chemicals from Earth's atmosphere are making their way down to the planet! Not in spaceships, but in rain. The acid rain can infiltrate ground water, lakes, and streams. How does acid rain affect aquatic ecosystems?
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EnvSci_p016

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None.

Material Availability

Items will need to be special ordered. See the Materials and Equipment section for more details.

Have you ever left your bike outside in the rain? If so, you might have discovered unpleasant surprises afterwards—reddish-brown patches, known as rust, and your wheels, brakes, and gears might have stopped working so smoothly. In this chemistry science fair project, you'll learn why rust, a type of corrosion, is a serious problem. You'll also discover that not all rains are the same! Find out which ones can speed up the rusting process.
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Have you ever dyed eggs? Turning eggshells from white into different, dazzling colors can be a lot of fun! To do this, most people buy dye tablets to make different colors in a liquid bath. They then dip the egg into the liquid and wait till it turns the desired color. You can dye eggs in many other ways, and one neat method uses silk ties. Sounds strange to use clothing to dye eggs, right? But it actually works really well! In this science project, you will dye eggs with old or used…
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Chem_p103

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Time Required

Very Short (≤ 1 day)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Very Low (under $20)

Safety

Adult supervision is recommended when using scissors and required for using the stove. A well-ventilated stove area, or dust masks, are needed to avoid breathing in vinegar and dye fumes. Do not eat the eggs after dyeing them.

Forget drinking your juice. Instead, try snacking on it! Use the steps and recipes in this food science project to transform drinks into semi-solid balls that pop in your mouth. The technique is called spherification and it is part of a larger food science trend called molecular gastronomy— but we just call it yummy science!
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A delicious and quick lunch is a cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Biting into the toasty, butter-soaked bread and gooey cheese is very comforting. But what makes the cheese melt so nicely? Do all cheeses melt this way? In this cooking and food science fair project, you will experiment with making and determining the best recipe for processed cheese.
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FoodSci_p054

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

You will need access to a refrigerator, a stovetop, and an oven.

Material Availability

Specialty items are required. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Minor injury is possible. Adult supervision is required. Since the sodium phosphate dibasic is not a food-grade substance, do not eat any of the resulting processed cheeses.

Do you hate shots? Do you complain about paper cuts? Imagine if you had to give yourself shots a couple of times a day, as well as prick your finger, on purpose, even more frequently. Of course, if you have diabetes you do not have to imagine this; it is your reality. People who have diabetes usually need to keep close track of how much sugar is in their blood (called their blood glucose levels)by testing a drop of blood from a finger prick. If there is too much sugar in their blood, some…
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HumBio_p040

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

Some familiarity with electronic circuits and using breadboards would be helpful, though it is not required for this project. Completion of a basic chemistry class is also recommended before trying this project.

Material Availability

A pump and other electronics parts must be specially ordered to do this project. See the Materials list for details. Estimated project time includes shipping of specialty components.

Cost

Average ($40 - $80)

Safety

Some parts of the circuit can get warm during normal operation. Do not leave the circuit operating when unattended. Be very careful with your wiring to prevent short circuits from happening; short circuits can get very hot and cause plastic parts of the circuit to melt.

If you have ever prepared a cup of coffee or tea with sugar, you have probably seen that the grains of sugar quickly dissolve and completely disappear in hot water. But sugar is not the only type of solid that can readily dissolve in a liquid. In fact, there are some types of rocks that can be dissolved by common liquids. It might be hard to imagine large, hard rocks being eaten away by some ordinary fluids, right? But it actually happens all the time! In this geology science project, you will…
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Geo_p047

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Small limestone rocks are needed to do this science project. See the Materials and Equipment list for details. Note: The listed time required to do this science project includes shipping time.

Oooey gooey cheese...yum! Who doesn't like a slice of warm pizza straight from the oven? There's nothing quite like a slice of pizza and a glass of milk, so what makes pizza so great? The cheese! But did you know that making cheese is all about science and chemistry? In this science fair project, you will learn more about the science of cheese making and what kind of milk works best. Try this science fair project and you'll learn about science and get something yummy to eat afterward!
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FoodSci_p041

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

Access to a stove and a microwave.

Material Availability

Specialty items are required: rennet tablets, citric acid, and a dairy thermometer. See the Materials and Equipment list for more information.

Cost

Average ($50 - $100)

Safety

Always exercise caution when working with a stove and hot liquids. Adult supervision is required.

You know that water can exist in three separate phases: solid (ice), liquid (water), and vapor (steam). To change from one phase to another, you simply add (or remove) heat. When water boils, what happens to molecules (for example sugar or salt) that are dissolved in the water? Do they boil off too, or do they stay behind?
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